Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 10:09:24 +0200 (CEST) From: "Hartmann, O." <ohartman@klima.physik.uni-mainz.de> To: <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: suitable CAD system for scientific use? Message-ID: <20010821095448.A76991-100000@klima.physik.uni-mainz.de>
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Dear Sirs. this time I want to aim a question towards the FreeBSD community and this is not a subject of the server abilities. As a geologist I need several kinds of software to take field researches into a reproduceable media. With Windooze based PCs most scientists around here use a combination of AutoCAD and ArcInfo/ArcView and I wish to offer a similar system for use at the institute and for personal use on our FreeBSD cluster. My first steps were done with GRASS, but GRASS is not suitable for starting with painting geological maps. It is a good system for later work on such maps, but first steps need to be done by a CAD like system. Several tasks has been done using GIMP, but its simply a kind of horror working with gimp, it is not accurate enough and the abilities working with vectors and polygons are narrow minded and limited. But the abilities doing work on transparent layers and such very interesting things are highly recommended. So, I need a CAD like system with is able load a background picture (a scanned topological map of the mapping area), an object orientated vector programm, like a suitable CAD system and a painting system like GIMP, working with transparent layers etc. I try to test now for two weeks and failed. XFig is not able to use a backdrop picture or transparent layers, but it works with vectors. GRASS produces a very inefficient output, I tried to scetch bounding soil and rock areas and exported them for use in other programs - but GRASS 5 seems to make a lot of errors while 'snapping' lines to close areas and then export such areas - some areas got lost. The intention was to use GRASS exported area sets to put them into GIMP as a layer, but that fails on lost areas and the unefficient way to get the background transparent. It seems to be impossible to get this simple work done by free software ... Has anyone ideas or a suitable solutiuon for a CAD system that works with backdrop pictures and transparent layers? It would be no problem to export bot, the layers and the backdrop picture later into gimp - but first I need to work in the CAD system to get boundaries, locations and other geophysical elements placed in the map's layers. Then exporting and painting with transparent layers in GIMP ? Thnaks, Oliver -- MfG O. Hartmann ohartman@klima.physik.uni-mainz.de ---------------------------------------------------------------- IT-Administration des Institutes fuer Physik der Atmosphaere (IPA) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz Becherweg 21 55099 Mainz Tel: +496131/3924662 (Maschinenraum) Tel: +496131/3924144 FAX: +496131/3923532 To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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